EBRD grants $10 mln loan to Ukrainian holding IMC to develop grain logistics, boost exports

MOSCOW. June 23 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has granted a $10 million loan to Ukrainian agricultural holding IMC to help improve its internal grain logistics, increase export capacities and keep its human resources.

The loan agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Ukrainian Recovery Conference in London on Thursday, Ukrainian media said.

The Clean Technology Fund, for its part, will add $3 million to the EBRD's financing to be spent on purchasing new grain trucks with low exhaust levels.

The project will enhance the efficiency of IMC's grain logistics and will support the sustainability of its export capacities, Ukrainian media said, citing an EBRD press release. By increasing the resilience of IMC, the project will also help it keep its human resources and continue paying salaries to its staff, it said.

The loan will include a contribution from the Netherlands and will be financed by donors by the EBRD's Crisis Response Fund through partial guarantees as part of the bank's package of measures to maintain Ukraine's resilience. Japan International Cooperation Agency and the EBRD will contribute to the project's due diligence.

As reported, the EBRD has increased its investments in Ukraine since the start of the crisis. It pledged to invest three billion euros in Ukraine in 2022-2023, 1.7 billion euros of which has already been disbursed, and a further 200 million euros has been mobilized from partner financial institutions.